TORONTO (Reuters) - A day after rival insurer Manulife Financial Corp surprised markets with a C$2.5 billion ($2.3 billion) equity financing, Sun Life Financial said it was comfortable with its capital levels.
"We've been consistent in saying we believe we have a very high quality capital position," Sun Life President Jon Boscia told analysts and investors at its U.S. investor day in New York.
Noting that Sun Life issued C$500 million in additional Tier I capital on Wednesday, Boscia said: "We are very comfortable with our current position."
Still, when asked if an acquisition might change the company's need for capital, Boscia said it would.
"I think an M&A transaction would certainly have the potential to change it," he said.
Shares of Manulife tumbled on Thursday after Canada's biggest insurer said it would raise at least C$2.5 billion in a bought deal equity financing, diluting share values for a second time in less than a year.
The move by Manulife has raised speculation that the insurer either sees big clouds on the horizon and is being extra prudent in building fortress capital levels, or sees acquisition opportunities that will require extra cash.
($1=$1.06 Canadian)
(Reporting by Andrea Hopkins; editing by Rob Wilson)
158.94 (1.43%)
